Rotary shell chamber

ABSTRACT

A rotary shell chamber for use in firearms is disclosed. The rotary shell chamber housing loaded shells is secured within a rifle, such as a lever action rifle, by a breech plug. The breech plug, through a plurality of locking lugs, locks the chamber and the shells disposed therein within the receiver of the rifle to effect a positive lock up as strong as conventional bolt action rifles. The breech plug is rotatable to disengage from the receiver and is laterally pivotable to permit rearward extraction and reloading of the chamber. The lever action, acting through a pawl arrangement, rotates the chamber to position an unfired shell in alignment with the barrel.

United States Patent [191' Hagan Mar. 19, 1 974 ROTARY SHELL CHAMBER[76] Inventor: Edward A. Hagan, 617 LaVilla PL,

Tucson, Ariz. 85710 [22] Filed: Dec. 18, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 316,119

2/1968 Ramsay 42/39.5

Primary ExaminerSamuel Feinberg Assistant Examiner-C. T. JordanAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Cahill, Sutton & Thomas [57] ABSTRACT A rotaryshell chamber for use in firearms is disclosed. The rotary shell chamberhousing loaded shells is secured within a rifle, such as a lever actionrifle, by a breech plug. The breech plug, through a plurality of lockinglugs, locks the chamber and the shells disposed therein within thereceiver of the rifle to effect a positive lock up as strong asconventional bolt action rifles. The breech plug is rotatable todisengage from the receiver and is laterally pivotable to permitrearward extraction and reloading of the chamber. The lever action,acting through a pawl arrangement, rotates the chamber to position anunfired shell in alignment with the barrel.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDNAR 19 I974 SHEET 1 0F 2 2 M 3 m 8\u N mm 5 LIPM.

PATENTEDIAR 19 I974 37971 153 sum 2 0F 2 ROTARY SHELL CHAMBER Thepresent application describes subject matter related to subject matterof previously filed patent applications entitled Ball Rifled Barrel;Ser. No. 294,281; filed: Oct. 2, 1972 and Low Friction Projectile; Ser.No. 294,280; filed: Oct. 2, 1972, and invented by the same inventor.

The present invention relatesto magazines for firearms, and moreparticularly, to rotary magazines.

Conventional firearms, and particularly rifles, generally incorporateone of three types of reloading mechanisms, that is, bolt action, leveraction, or pump or trombone actions. Of these, the bolt action isgenerally accepted as the strongest action because of the lugs extendingfrom the bolt and mating with receiving cavities within the receiver.For this reason, bolt action rifles are generally used where high poweris paramount or where accuracy is at a premium. Where fast reloading atthe expense of strength and accuracy is paramount, lever action or pumpaction rifles are used.

Conventional firearms are generally inflexible in their capability toreceive and discharge shells of other than a particular size andconfiguration, even though the projectile caliber remains the same.Thus, the owner of any particular rifle is restricted to the use ofshells having cartridges expressly made for that rifle as shells havingthe same caliber projectile but different cartridge configuration cannotbe used.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide afirearm having the inherent strength of a bolt action and the cartridgeadvance speed of a lever action.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a multiple shellmagazine for use in a lever action firearm.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a rotarychamber magazine for a lever action rifle.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a means forrapidly reloading a lever action rifle.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a cartridgeinterchangeability feature in a lever action rifle.

A yet further object of the present invention is to providea leveraction rifle capable of receiving one of a plurality of rotary chambers,which rotary chambers are individually adapted to receive a plurality ofone type of commercially available cartridges.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a rotaryshell chamber adapted to key the projectiles to the rifling of thebarrel.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art as the description thereof proceeds.

The present invention may be described with more specificity and claritywith reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the receiver and pistolgrip of a lever action rifle in accordance with the teachings of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the rotary shell chamber ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the rotary shell chamber as shown in FIG. 2,taken along lines 33.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the operation of the breech plug of the rotaryshell chamber, taken along lines 4-4 as shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the rotary shell chamber taken alonglines 55 as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the fore part of the rotary shellchamber taken along lines 66, as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 illustrates the exterior of the rotary shell chamber.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a rifle 1, which rifle includes abarrel 4, a receiver 5, and a stock 3. A

sight 6 is disposed at the tip of the barrel 4. Barrel 4- may be securedto receiver 5 by segmented lugs 12 coacting with threads 15. Otherconventional methods for securing a barrel to a receiver may also beused.

In proximity to the receiver 5 and pistol grip 2 of stock 3, there isdisposed a lever 7 for positioning the shells with receiver 5. Lever 7includes a trigger guard 8 to protect trigger 9 against inadvertentdischarge of the firearm. Lever 7 pivots about pivot point 20. As lever7 is rotated downwardly in a clockwise direction, end 19 of the leverrotates upwardly and causes a yoke 71 to move upwardly. The function ofyoke 71 is that of advancing a loaded shell into alignment with the boreof barrel 4, as will be explained in more detail be low.

Trigger 9 may also be provided at pivot point 20 or at anothermechanically and functionally convenient point on lever 7. A turret case13 is secured to lever 7 and partially encloses the body of striker 14.Trigger 9 is pivotally secured to lever 7 and includes a scar l6 biasedby a spring 17 for engaging notch 18 of striker 14 when the striker iscocked. As lever 7 is pivoted downwardly in the clockwise direction, thecombination of trigger 9, striker 14, and turret case 13 also pivot inthe clockwise direction about pivot point 20.

In order to permit turret case 13 to move in a clockwise direction aboutpivot point 20, some space must be provided between the turret case andpistol grip 2. To prevent dirt and debris from entering this space, acover 26 is slidably secured within cavity 25. Cover 26 abuts turretcase 13 and is free to move in and out of cavity 25 as the turret casemoves toward and away from pistol grip 2. A flange 27 extends downwardlyfrom cover 26. A spring 28 disposed intermediate one wall of cavity 25and flange 27 biases cover 26 against the turret case 13 to insurecontact therebetween.

The turret case 13 includes a slot (not shown) therein through whichstriker 14 extends. The slot permits the striker to be cocked byrotating it for a predetermined amount in the clockwise direction.Rotation of striker 14 is facilitated by thumb grip 11 extendingupwardly from the rear part of striker 14. As striker 14 is rotated in aclockwise direction, it will pivot about its pivot point until sear 16is forced into notch 18 of striker 14 by spring 17. The striker 14 isreleased from. sear 16 by applying a rearward force on trigger 9, whichforce acting through the pivot point for the trigger disengages sear 16from notch 18. A spring 20 disposed intermediate striker 14 and the baseof turret case 13 applies a bias on striker 14 to urge striker 14 torotate in a counterclockwise direction on release of sear 16. Spring 20is positioned within a depression 22 in striker 14 and centered thereinby nipple 21 extending within the center part of the spring. A similarnipple 23, extending from the base of turret case 13, is disposed withinthe interior of spring 20 to position it at one location on the base ofthe turret case.

Referring jointly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the rotary magazine 50 of thepresent invention will be described in more detail. Receiver 5 hasdisposed therein a circular cavity for receiving magazine 50. Magazine50 includes two primary elements, a rotary chamber 52 and a surroundinginterposed sleeve 51. Rotary chamber 52 includes a plurality of shellchambers 53 for receiving loaded shells 60. A first part of shellchamber 53 is configured to receive a cartridge 61. A second part ofshell chamber 53 is configured to receive a projectile 62 extending fromcartridge 61. The projectile 62 may include a plurality of sphericalbearings 63 protruded therefrom as described in a co-pending patentapplication entitled Low Friction Projectile, Ser. No. 294,280, filedOct. 2, 1972, and invented by the present inventor. When such aprojectile is used, the forward part of shell chamber 53 includesrifling 64, which rifling mates with similar rifling within barrel 4, asdescribed in the above-referenced patent application. With thisarrangement, the projectile 62 will begin to rotate at the instant ofseparation from its cartridge 61.

The means for seating magazine 50 within receiver 5 will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. A breech plug 40 is hingedlysecured to receiver 5 by means of a hinge mechanism 48. The hingemechanism 48 includes an arm 54 secured to the exterior of receiver 5 bya plurality of bolts 55. A pair of hinge lugs 47 are pivotally securedto arm 54 by means of pin 56 engaging both the lugs and the arm. A slipring 41 is brazed or otherwise secured to each of lugs 47. Slip ring 41engages an annular depression 42, which depression is wider than thewidth of the slip ring. The extremities of the depression 42 are definedby an annular flange 49 and the body of the breech plug 40 itself. Thus,breech plug 40 is free to move axially with respect to slip ring 41. Theforward end of breech plug 40 includes a plurality of segmented lugs 44extending therefrom. These lugs 44 co-operate with grooves 45 disposedwithin receiver 5. In this manner, breech plug 40 is initially insertedwithin receiver 5 and then rotated to engage lugs 44 with theirrespective grooves 45. In this position, any force exerted upon breechplug 40 along its axis is translated to receiver 5 through lugs 44. Thismethod of securing breech plug 40 is similar in operation to that of thelugs of the bolt of a bolt action rifle engaging its receiver.

As shown in further detail in FIG. 5, receiver 5 includes a plurality ofgrooves 57 through which lugs 44 are passed when the breech plug 40 isinitially inserted within the receiver 5. When shoulder 58 of breechplug 40 contacts the edge of receiver 5, the breech plug is rotated toinsert lugs 44 within their respective grooves 45 and drive the breechplug home.

The previously discussed depression 42 co-operating with slip ring 41 isof a width sufficient to accommodate the axial movement of breech plug40 during both the initial insertion and subsequent turning of thebreech plug. That is, when breech plug 40 is seated, slip ring 41 isgenerally adjacent flange 49. As the breech plug is rotated andwithdrawn from within the receiver 5, shoulder 59 will become generallyadjacent slip ring 41. At this point, breech plug 40 is free of theconstraint imposed upon it by receiver 5 and the breech plug 'may bepivoted rearwardly and laterally about hinge 48 as shown in FIG. 4. Abreech lever 46 extending from breech plug 40 will facilitate therotation and extraction of breech plug 40 from within receiver 5. Fromthe above description, it will become evident that the use of a slipring co-operating with a depression within the breech plug permits theuse of a fixed axis hinged mechanism 48.

Breech plug 40 includes a circular cavity 37 extending therethrough forreceiving firing pin 43. Firing pin 43 is seated within cavity 37 by apair of sleeves 38 extending inwardly from either end of cavity 37.Intermediate the two sleeves 38, there is disposed about firing pin 43an enlarged portion or ridge 39. The ridge 39 is free to move for alimited distance between sleeves 38, thereby, the total axial movementof firing pin 43 is limited. The firing pin 43 is positioned withinbreech plug 40 such that it will cooperate with striker l4 and on impacttherefrom strike the igniter of the cartridge within the rotary chamber52. An obturator disc may also be attached to the breech plug 40 toinsure that the shell to be fired is firmly lodged within the rotarychamber 52.

The rotary chamber 52 as shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, includes four shellchambers 53 equiangularly disposed therein. When a shell 60 isdischarged, the rotary chamber 52 must be advanced to position the nextsucceeding loaded shell in position to be fired. The advancement of therotary chamber 52 is effected through a yoke 71 pivotally secured to end19 of lever 7 at pivot point 72. Yoke 71 includes a pair of arms 73 and74 secured to end 19 by either a nut and bolt combination or by a rivet75 as shown. Arms 73 and 74 are positioned within a correspondingvertical channel in receiver 5, which channels face inwardly toward therotary chamber 52. A pawl 84 is pivotally secured to arm 73 by shaft 86.A spring 85 biases the pawl 84 away from arm 73. Similarly, a pawl 81 ispivotally secured to arm 74 by shaft 83. A spring 82 biases pawl 81 awayfrom arm 74. As shown in FIG. 6, pawl 84 opens upwardly while pawl 81opens downwardly.

An interposed sleeve 51 is rotatably fitted within receiver 5 and housesthe rotary chamber 52. The sleeve is keyed to the rotary chamber by key65 engaging keyway 66 to ensure that the rotary chamber advances as thesleeve is caused to rotate.

A plurality of notches are disposed within sleeve 51. Each of thesenotches are positioned approximately equiangularly distant from theadjacent shell chambers 53. Where there are four shell chambers asshown, there will also be four notches. The operation of advancing therotary chamber 52 and sleeve 5 may be described as follows. As lever 7is moved downwardly in a clockwise direction, end 19 will also move in aclockwise direction, or in a direction toward the rotary chamber 52. Asend 19 moves upwardly, yoke 71 will also move upwardly. The upwardmovement of yoke 71 will cause pawl 84 secured to arm 73 to engage notch80. The engagement of notch 80 with pawl 84 and the continuing upwardmovement of pawl84 will force the rotary chamber to rotate in aclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 6. Arm 74 will, of course, alsomove upwardly along with its pawl 81. Although pawl 81 normally extendsinwardly, the upward movement of arm 74 will cause pawl 81 to pivotcounterclockwise and slide along the exterior surface of sleeve 51.

By appropriate selection of moment arms, the total upward movement ofend 19 is configured to be sufficient to cause pawl 84 to rotate rotarychamber 52 and sleeve 51 through an angle of 45. At this point, pawl 81will engage the notch 80 diametrically opposed to the notch 80 engagedby pawl 84. As lever'7 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction todraw the lever adjacent pistol grip 2, yoke 71 will descend. As yoke 71descends, arm 74 will also descend. However, at the upwardmost limit ofarm 74, pawl 81 was forced into the adjacent notch 80 by its spring 82and as arm 74 descends, pawl 81 engaging its notch will rotate rotarychamber 52 through a further angle of 45. From the above description, itmay be seen that for each full movement of lever 7, rotary chamber 52will always rotate through an angle of 90. As the angle of 90corresponds to the angular orientation between adjacent shell chambers53, rotary chamber 52 will be advanced one shell position for each cycleof lever 7.

Lever 7 may include a key 90 positioned just off pivot point to engageone of depressions 91 disposed within sleeve 51. Depressions 91 arealigned with the axis of rotary chamber 52 and the center line of one ofthe shell chambers 53. The function served by key 90 and its associateddepressions is that of securely locking rotary chamber 52 in positionafter the chamber has been advanced. The operation of unlocking andlocking rotary chamber 52 may be described as follows. Key 90 extendsfrom lever 7 to the rear of the pivot point 20 so that key 90 will movedownwardly as lever 7 is rotated in a clockwise direction. The downwardmovement of key 90 extracts the key from the associated depression 91 topermit the rotary chamber 52 to rotate. As the lever 7 is subsequentlybrought adjacent pistol grip 2, key 90 will engage the succeedingdepression 91 after the rotary chamber 52 has been rotated through 90.Thus, the rotary chamber is securely locked in place with the shellbeing fully aligned with the bore of barrel 4 and the firing pin 43.

With the present invention, a plurality of differently sized shellchambers 53 may be used in each of a plurality of rotary chambers 52.Thus, it is possible to use a 4 plurality of different sized cartridgeshapes and configurations within the same rifle, provided only that theprojectile caliber matches the caliber of the rifle. Thus, the presentinvention teaches the construction of firearms, which firearms are notrestricted to a single manufacturers shells for any given size caliberbut, instead, permit the rifle to be used with any number ofmanufacturers shells. The only change that must be made to permit suchuse is that of using a rotary chamber 52 specifically adapted for aparticular manufacturers shells.

The removal and insertion of rotary chambers 52 within a firearmconstructed in accordance with the present invention can be easilyaccommodated by unlocking breech plug 40 and swinging it lateral toreceiver 5. At the same time, lever 7 is rotated in a clockwisedirection to its extremity, which rotation will cause striker 14 andturret case 13 to recede within pistol grip 2; thus, neither striker 14nor turret case 13 will impede the removal or insertion of a rotarychamber 52, from within sleeve 51.

While the principles of the invention have now been made clear in anillustrative embodiment, it will be immediately obvious to those skilledin the art many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions,the elements, materials, and components, used in the practice of theinvention which are particularly adapted for specific environments andoperating requirements without departing from those principles.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for housing cartridges within a lever action rifle, whichrifle includes a lever operating the lever action of the rifle, abarrel, a receiver, and a stock, said apparatus comprising incombination:

A. a rotary chamber having a plurality of cavities for receiving andcartridges;

B. a housing disposed within the receiver of the lever action rifle forreceiving said chamber;

C. a breech plug threadedly secured to said housing for locking saidchamber within said housing;

D. advance means connected to the lever of the lever action for rotatingsaid chamber to serially position the cartridges in alignment with thebarrel of the rifle; and

E. means for discharging a cartridge in alignment with the barrel;whereby, the cartridges can be serially advanced within the receiver byoperation of the lever action and serially discharged by operation ofsaid discharge means.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said breech plugincludes a plurality of interrupted thread lugs, and the receiverincludes interrupted threads for receiving said lugs.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said receiver includesa plurality of channels, equal in number to the number of axiallyaligned rows of said interrupted thread lugs, for receiving saidinterrupted thread lugs, whereby said breech plug is axially slideableinto said receiver prior to engagement of said interrupted thread lugswith said interrupted threads.

4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 3 including means for hingedlysecuring said breech plug to said receiver 5. The apparatus as set forthin claim 4 wherein said breech plug includes a channel disposed aboutsaid breech plug and said securing means comprises:

A. a slip ring disposed within said channel in said breech plug;

B. hinge lugs extending from said slip ring;

C. an arm affixed to said receiver; and

D. pivot means disposed intermediate said hinge lugs and said arm;whereby said breech plug is free to move in its axial direction for adistance equivalent to the difference in width between said channel andsaid slip ring and pivot with respect to the receiver.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said advance meansincludes:

A. an interposed sleeve disposed about said rotary chamber, includingmeans for keying said sleeve with said rotary chamber;

B. a yoke secured to the extremity of the lever of the lever action,said yoke including a pair of arms; C. a first inwardly biased pawlpivotally secured to one of said arms, said first pawl being oriented ina first direction;

D. a second inwardly biased pawl pivotally secured to another of saidarms, said second pawl being oriented in a second direction; and

E. notch means disposed within said sleeve for alternately engaging oneof said pawls; whereby, one of said pawls engages one of said notcheswhen the 1 of said notches when the lever is moved in a second directionto further rotate said sleeve. 7. The apparatus as set forth in Claim 6wherein said advance means further includes:

A. a plurality of keyways disposed about said sleeve;

B. a key extending from said lever, said key engaging one of saidkeyways when the lever is in a first position and disengaging from saidengaging keyway when said lever is in a second position; whereby, saidkey and keyway inhibits rotation of said rotary

1. Apparatus for housing cartridges within a lever action rifle, whichrifle includes a lever operating the lever action of the rifle, abarrel, a receiver, and a stock, said apparatus comprising incombination: A. a rotary chamber having a plurality of cavities forreceiving and cartridges; B. a housing disposed within the receiver ofthe lever action rifle for receiving said chamber; C. a breech plugthreadedly secured to said housing for locking said chamber within saidhousing; D. advance means connected to the lever of the lever action forrotating said chamber to serially position the cartridges in alignmentwith the barrel of the rifle; and E. means for discharging a cartridgein alignment with the barrel; whereby, the cartridges can be seriallyadvanced within the receiver by operation of the lever action andserially discharged by operation of said discharge means.
 2. Theapparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said breech plug includes aplurality of interrupted thread lugs, and the receiver includesinterrupted threads for receiving said lugs.
 3. The apparatus as setforth in claim 2 wherein said receiver includes a plurality of channels,equal in number to the number of axially aligned rows of saidinterrupted thread lugs, for receiving said interrupted thread lugs,whereby said breeCh plug is axially slideable into said receiver priorto engagement of said interrupted thread lugs with said interruptedthreads.
 4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 3 including means forhingedly securing said breech plug to said receiver
 5. The apparatus asset forth in claim 4 wherein said breech plug includes a channeldisposed about said breech plug and said securing means comprises: A. aslip ring disposed within said channel in said breech plug; B. hingelugs extending from said slip ring; C. an arm affixed to said receiver;and D. pivot means disposed intermediate said hinge lugs and said arm;whereby said breech plug is free to move in its axial direction for adistance equivalent to the difference in width between said channel andsaid slip ring and pivot with respect to the receiver.
 6. The apparatusas set forth in claim 1 wherein said advance means includes: A. aninterposed sleeve disposed about said rotary chamber, including meansfor keying said sleeve with said rotary chamber; B. a yoke secured tothe extremity of the lever of the lever action, said yoke including apair of arms; C. a first inwardly biased pawl pivotally secured to oneof said arms, said first pawl being oriented in a first direction; D. asecond inwardly biased pawl pivotally secured to another of said arms,said second pawl being oriented in a second direction; and E. notchmeans disposed within said sleeve for alternately engaging one of saidpawls; whereby, one of said pawls engages one of said notches when thelever is moved in a first direction to rotate said sleeve and another ofsaid pawls engages another of said notches when the lever is moved in asecond direction to further rotate said sleeve.
 7. The apparatus as setforth in Claim 6 wherein said advance means further includes: A. aplurality of keyways disposed about said sleeve; B. a key extending fromsaid lever, said key engaging one of said keyways when the lever is in afirst position and disengaging from said engaging keyway when said leveris in a second position; whereby, said key and keyway inhibits rotationof said rotary chamber when said lever is in the first position.
 8. Theapparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said discharge means includes:A. a striker pivotally secured to the lever; B. a turret case partiallyenclosing said striker, aid turret case being secured to the lever;whereby, said striker and said turret case are drawn into the receiveras the lever is pivoted away from the stock.